Court Won't Overturn Death Sentence For Kentucky Man

The Supreme Court says there will be no new sentencing hearing for a man who confessed to murdering a 16-year-old girl in Kentucky.

In a 6-3 ruling, the Justices refused to overturn Robert Keith Woodall's death sentence for abducting, raping and killing Sarah Hansen on Jan. 25, 1997, after forcing her from a convenience store in western Kentucky.

A federal court ruled that the judge at Woodall's state trial should have instructed the jury not to draw any negative conclusions about his refusal to take the stand at his 1998 capital sentencing hearing. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling. But the high court reversed, finding that trial judge was under no obligation to instruct the jury about drawing adverse conclusions.